The Forgotten Ones
by sleeveRoller
Summary: When all the warriors managed to get their hands on their crystals, they didn't know that they left one out until the Warrior of Light found him. What would be the Keyblade Master's reaction to this sudden calling? Who would be his enemy and why?
1. The Awakening

**I suggest reading this in 3/4 format. Just so it would look longer. xD Anyways, enjoy the fic.**

Sora opened his eyes. He saw his makeshift sailboat hanging from the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, he tried tossing and turning in his bed, he tried every type of sleeping position he could think of, but he couldn't sleep, even though it was peaceful.

It was peaceful ever since they defeated the Organization. The worlds have been restored and though some Heartless have remained in some worlds, they were only but a lingering few.

The Keyblade master sat up his bed, ran a hand through his spiky brown hair and stretched his arms. He gazed out his open window into the pale, moonlit beach. Yes, it was peaceful, but he felt strangely empty.

It felt as if something very important was missing. His bright blue eyes surveyed the pale beach, watching the dark blue waved ebb on the shore; the sand shining like millions of tiny diamonds. Something was off about this strange but beautiful sight.

It seemed as though the sand was emitting a bright and eerie glow. Out of pure curiosity, Sora quietly got out of bed and lifted himself off the window ledge and jumped on to a soft bush on the ground not too far below.

He rolled off the bush and stood with his bare feet on the shortly trimmed grass. He walked to the shore with sand going through his toes. He was quite surprised at what he saw. He found the sand glowing and ebbing as though it was water.

He appreciated the sight for quite a while until he heard a faint voice from the dark waters itself. It was a female voice beckoning to him.

"I implore you - "the voice said quietly.

Sora whirled around, trying to find the source of the faint voice. He summoned his Kingdom Key and splashed deeper into the water. He stood still, trying to hear the voice in few whispers blowing with the wind.

"-obtain the light that even in a broke world could never fade -" the voice whispered quietly, until the Keyblade bearer heard nothing but the soft whistle of the wind.

"Wait- what do you mean by obtain the light?!" Sora shouted. No reply came. He turned his head to the starry sky. He squinted as he noticed the stars twinkled brightly then vanishing one by one very quickly.

'Oh no, that can't be good,' he thought.

As he was watching the stars vanish from the sky, he didn't notice that the dark blue water around his feet began glowing and pulling him deeper under the water.

The Keyblade vanished as Sora panicked. He was being pulled down so quickly that he didn't even notice that another storm was forming over Destiny Islands as he was dragged into the deep waters.

"Are you sure that that child is one of us, Garland?" a cold feminine voice asked.

"Quite sure, Ultimecia," a deep voice answered. Whispers began forming around the so-called 'child's' sleeping figure. It was clothed in a black leather coat and it held two strange weapons in both of its hands. One looking like the darkest of the night, and the other looking as though it was bathed in pure light.

"I sense light in him," a different female voice from the one called Ultimecia said. The whispers erupted into loud arguing.

"He's a child of Cosmos, Garland. Let us send him into the Void."

"Let's tear him to bits first!!"

The arguing persisted until they heard a clapping. The voices diminished. The Warriors of Chaos turned to the direction of the clapping.

"If there's light in him, it just means he knows how to get into our enemies' minds. He knows their doubts, their weaknesses and their fears," Sephiroth told them as he stopped clapping. "If Chaos chose him, it means he's fit for the part."

They all agreed on this. All of the warriors left except for Jecht, Golbez, and Kuja. They watched the figure breathe evenly with its peculiar weapons vanish as it rolled over in its sleep.

"The light he emits if far greater than I've seen in us," the tallest armoured figure said. Golbez turned to his companions. Jecht stared at the sleeping figure. His hand shook the young man.

"Huh- What the?" the teenager sat up and his hood fell off, revealing spiky blond hair, and baby blue eyes beneath his hood. At the sight of the pawns of Chaos, the young man jumped back and summoned his weapons in a stance of defence. Kuja raised his hand to send a spell to vanquish him but Golbez blocked him. Jecht scratched the back of his head as the blond boy charged towards them, his weapons circling around him.

"Whoa, wait. Slow down, kid," Jecht said while preventing the blonde from tackling Kuja and Golbez. The blonde was held by Jecht's hold on his collar; he writhed at first but then gave up. Jecht grinned as he put the teenager down.

"Who are you people? And where am I?" the teen asked him calmly.

"See, I'm Jecht," the rugged man said. And he pointed to his companions. "That Golbez-" he pointed to the tall armour clad figure. "-and that's-"

"Kuja, at your service," the lavender haired Genome proudly cut off. He bowed as the other three stared at him blankly. The teen stared at Golbez.

"You didn't answer my other question, where am I?" he asked again.

"You're in the Old Chaos' Shrine, kid, here you'll fight for the-"the jock stopped in midsentence. Kuja observed the teen idly while gliding through the air. Golbez merely crossed his arms and leaned on one of the broken pillars watching the duo converse with Kuja gliding through the air above them.

"The what?"

"Kid, lemme ask you something. If you wanted to fight for something, what would that be, eh?" Jecht's question startled not only the blonde, but also Kuja and Golbez. The teen crossed his arms.

"I would fight for my life, my friends and the greater good. Too much fighting isn't good for anyone, in my opinion. I would fight to have my own life and heart, not just be some other person's shell. And by the way, it's Roxas, so stop calling my 'kid,'" the blonde replied. Kuja's idle interest quickly ran deeper.

This was a being that he hasn't seen or heard of before. What did he mean by 'have my own life and not just be some other person's shell?'

Golbez was thinking the same thought as Kuja. 'For his life and friends and the greater good.'

He is much more a warrior of Cosmos than that of Chaos.

"You know what, Roxas. Fighting for that would be worth, well, hell, it would be worth dying for. Come on, let's show this kid around," Jecht said as he grabbed Roxas by the shoulder and pulled to the exit of the ruined Chaos' Shrine. Kuja and Golbez were left thinking deeply on what they were fighting for when Chaos asked them to join him.

"I said come on!"

The Warrior of Light was quietly contemplating about the strange power that the crystal was capable of while walking in the middle of Dream's End. He stopped walking when he saw a sleeping figure lying in the distance. It looked like it had a nest of spiky brown hair covering its top. The Warrior didn't give a second though and ran to the figure.

He knelt down the figure, who appeared to be a young man that seemed as old as Zidane. He wore dark blue garments that were adorned with brightly coloured belts and straps. It seemed as though the teenager emitted a strange aura of light. Just like the Warrior did.

And the Warrior of Light didn't even think twice in waking the teenager.

"What the-" the boy woke up and stared into the Warrior's light blue eyes. The brunette looked over the mysterious man's shoulder and stood up anxiously.

"Who are you?" the boy asked in a somewhat frightened tone.

"Do not be afraid. I am the Warrior of Light," the armoured hero answered.

"Warrior of Light? Don't you have a name?"

"Unfortunately, no. I don't remember my name. How about yours? What do you want to be called?" the Warrior asked. The brunette grinned and held out his hand.

"The name's Sora," he said as the Warrior took it and shook it firmly. The armoured warrior stood up and began walking with Sora at his heels.

"Where are we going?" Sora asked.

"The matter is, I'm heading to where my comrades are-"

"You mean your friends?"

"Yes, my friends. But, what about yourself? How did you get here, Sora?" the Warrior of Light asked. He stopped walking and turned to the brunette. Sora's eyebrows knitted in deep thought.

"I don't really know. The last thing I heard was a woman's voice telling me to obtain the light, or something-" Sora stopped when he noticed that the older man seemed, a bit distracted.

"Uh, Light? Is there something wrong?" Sora asked. The Warrior pushed Sora away as a strange figure that shined like crystal almost decapitated the brunette's head. Sora tumble behind the Warrior of Light and watched as the armoured man fought off the crystal mannequin. It gave off a distorted scream as the Warrior defeated it.

"Do you have a weapon?!" the older man shouted at him. Sora nodded and summoned a large key shaped sword. He charged towards the growing battalion of mannequins, their distorted screams echoing throughout Dream's End as the brunette slashed through them.

The Warrior of Light marvelled at the teen's swift slashes and quick dodges and jumps. As soon as the mannequins' cries ceased, the two looked for an escape out of Dream's End.

"Awesome fighting skills back there, Light," Sora complemented. The older man nodded. "And, uh, thanks for saving me from being mince meat."

The Warrior of Light glanced at him and gave a small smile. "Not a problem, Sora. What did you say before we were attacked?"

"Something about obtaining the light."

**Ooh, cliffhanger! I wonder what would happen next?**


	2. Sympathy

**Uh, enjoy this chapter, guys. I hope I portrayed Kuja and Golbez and Jecht right. Forgive me if I have put them out of character. Anyway, enjoy the fanfic.** :D

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"Hey, Golbez, Jecht, Kuja." Roxas turned to the older men while sitting on the edge of one of the steep cliffs on the Lunar Subterrane . Beside him was Jecht, behind them was Golbez and above their heads was Kuja, who was still, although not surprisingly, floating around.

"Yes, Roxas?" Kuja stopped in mid-glide. A small mannequin was sprinting across the subterrane, as if it was being chased.

"What do you guys fight for?"

This question startled Kuja so much that he almost fell from his mid-glide. Roxas grabbed his arm and pulled him up the cliff roughly. Jecht sighed and easily pulled the lavender haired man by the collar with such force that both Kuja and Roxas stumbled backwards.

"Uh, sorry about that," Jecht rubbed the back of his neck. Kuja glared at him and stood up with his chin up high and glided back in the air. Roxas just stayed, lying on the ground, his breathing was heaved.

"Damn, you're really heavy, Kuja." Roxas breathed out as Jecht and Golbez helped him sit up.

"I beg your pardon?!" the Genome seethed in rage and embarrassment. Jecht started laughing.

"I think he means you have to lay off the Potions, Kuja," Jecht teased in between his fits of laughter. Golbez began healing Roxas as Kuja chased Jecht in a fit of rage. Roxas turned to the older, armoured man.

"Golbez, you didn't answer my question," Roxas muttered as Golbez casted Curaga on him. Golbez stopped for a moment. In the background was the small mannequin running away from Jecht and Kuja, who was in his Trance.

"I believe that I cannot give you the answer that you are looking for, Roxas-"

"But, I told you my reason, you have to tell me yours," the blonde insisted. Golbez sighed and laid a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Even if I do tell you, you would not understand, you are still a child and -" at this, the cloaked teenager's expression turned cold.

"I wouldn't understand? Alright then, I'll respect that," Roxas said curtly. His expression changed then into a blank face. "But I will get it out of you."

Golbez chuckled. Roxas opened his mouth to ask what was funny but Kuja cut him off as the Genome floated in front of them. He grabbed Roxas' hood and lifted him up in the air.

"Roxas, I myself would thank you for catching me when I almost fell, but you insulted my weight, and for that you shall suffer the same fate as poor Jecht over there," Kuja threatened into the blond's face. Roxas was pretty sure that the delightful scent of flowers was coming from the Genome. He gazed at the man's appearance when he was in his Trance. It was quite different, and Roxas could see the young man's tail from behind him.

He turned to the direction in which Jecht was hanging upside down. The rugged man waved at Roxas as the blood rushed to his head. This made the teenager gulp.

"Kuja, please don't. We've only just met," Roxas pleaded. The Genome thought for a moment.

It was very true, yes, they have only just met but the blonde but the three warriors of Chaos bonded with him quickly. For Jecht, the reason was that the teenager reminded him so much of his son, the murderous loathing aside. The same reminded Kuja of a less annoying Zidane. Although, for Golbez, it was simply because of the fact that Roxas was a child that he was fond of him.

"Well, since you said please, ignoring the fact that we've just met, I will let you go," Kuja said as he let Roxas down beside Golbez.

"Come, we have to show you some of the other sights," Golbez motioned. Roxas shook his head. Kuja crossed his arms at him.

"What is it now?" the effeminate man asked.

"I have to go do something, sorry guys, maybe you could go see the sights by yourselves," Roxas said blankly as he jumped off the cliff. He landed soundlessly on the ground below and walked past where Jecht was hanging.

"Hey, kid. Where ya going?" Jecht asked from above Roxas' head.

"I have to find out why I'm here and not with Him," Roxas mumbled. Jecht managed to get down from the air and blocked him as he walked away.

"Something wrong?" Roxas asked. Jecht closed his eyes and made a low 'hmm' sound.

"I'll come with you, we need to talk 'bout something," Jecht said. Roxas titled his head.

"What about them?" he pointed to the two mages behind them.

"They'll be fine, the worst they can get into is having a staring contest," Jecht assured. The blonde shrugged and began walking. Just for his own privacy, the teenager put up his hood.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

* * *

"So you're saying, that I have to find my crystal, and stop that Chaos guy from destroying all the light and hope," Sora asked with his hands behind his head. They were walking through the World of Darkness.

"Indeed," the Warrior of Light answered. Sora turned to him.

"You already have yours, right?" Sora asked. The armoured man nodded. He closed his deep-set eyes, held out his hand and summoned his crystal. It was a light blue shard that gave off its own aura and shine.

"And that's the worlds' hope? It though it would be bigger though," Sora said. The Warrior of Light crossed his arms and leaned on one of the pillars to his right.

"As long as it gives the world hope, and restore them to their former splendour, size doesn't matter," the Warrior informed the brunette. This made the Keyblade master grin awkwardly.

"So where do you think I should start looking for my crystal?" Sora asked as put his hands in his pockets. The Warrior of Light shook his head.

"Huh?" said the brunette in a confused tone.

"I will tell you, but do not rest assured that the path to my crystal is the same as yours. All of our crystals shine on what we seek," the Warrior of Light said in a stern voice.

"And what I seek is different from yours. I know that, but-" Sora turned to the armoured man.

"What?"

"I don't even know where to start right now, first I get this empty feeling inside me then some goddess suddenly gets me here, I'm not sure if I get to see friends or not if I survive this," Sora mused to himself.

"All you have to do is believe in Cosmos, So-"

"How can I believe in something if I have no idea what's going to happen. What I'm hoping for might not be what's gonna happen," the brunette continued. The Warrior of Light closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, Sora," the armoured man stood up straight and stared at the brunette straight in the eye.

"What then?"

"I have a reason to fight. A reason to believe that everything will be alright if I fight, I have a reason to make this conflict end. I will not stand here and mope around looking forward to an end that may or may not happen. I fight because I want to believe that if this is over, everything will be back to normal, good or bad."

This made Sora interested in the floor tiles. The Warrior of Light gave him a disappointed stare and returned to leaning on one of the pillars to his right.

The brunette leaned on the pillar beside the armoured man and slumped seated on the translucent floor. He curled up and took his head in between his hands.

The older man sighed sympathetically and sat beside the teenager.

"I'll stay with you until you make your choice," he said as he took sight of the Keyblade wielder gave him a slightly depressed glance. The brunette smiled.

"Thanks, Light."

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**Aww, WoL's so brotherly. :))**


	3. A Shocking Predicament

**Thanks to all those who reviewed this story! :D One comment made me particularly warm and fluffly inside, I'm not goig to say who but, to all those who still wait for this new chapter, I applaud your patience. On to the fic!**

**Also, I own nothing. Again, I suggest you guys read this in 3/4 format, just so it would look longer.**

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"Guys, shouldn't the Warrior of Light be back by now?" Bartz asked the rest of the group as he sat down next to Terra. The nine warriors have obtained their crystals, but they were only waiting for the slate-eyed man in dark blue armour. Little did they know, they also had to wait for a certain Keyblade master who didn't even know why he was fighting for his crystal.

"I'm going to look for him," Squall said softly as he stood up from the log he sat on. The SeeD mercenary grabbed his Gunblade and set his sights north, out of the dark forest that the warriors were camping in.

"I'm coming too, you never know when you need somebody to cover your back," Cloud said as he hoisted his buster sword and strapped on his back. Squall nodded and the two men began walking north, all of the other fighters' eyes on their backs.

As the two man made it out of the clearing, they were immediately stopped by one of the more enthusiastic members of the group.

"Hey, guys, wait up," Tidus yelled behind them as he caught up with the duo. Squall sighed and began walking farther north.

"Don't tell us that you have more to tell about your story," Squall mumbled quietly. Cloud smirked as Tidus made a face at the brunette.

"Just because you have nothing to do but brood all the time, Squall."

"I do not brood," the brunette back talked as they trio emerged out of the forest into the World of Darkness. It was quite confusing for them how they would walk out of a forest and expect a grassy field but then ends up in a crystal floored dark world instead.

It must be the Gods' tricks, Cloud thought to himself as they passed numerous pillars of translucent glass. Behind the ex-SOLDIER, Squall and Tidus were bickering. The pair was busy, but Cloud noticed that there was a familiar silhouette in armour in the distance that was sitting on the translucent marble floor.

"Squall, Tidus, I think that's him over there," Cloud stopped them and motioned to the direction of the armoured man. "And he's got somebody else with him."

"Wait a minute… I think-" Tidus began but he was stopped by the brunette.

"That kid's familiar," Squall cut off, which earned him a glare from Tidus.

"Let's check it out," Cloud suggested. They agreed and set foot to where the Warrior of Light was currently sitting. Each of them had thoughts in their heads, voiced differently, but all very much the same.

'I've seen that kid before but where?'

--

"So you're saying, that I'm on Chaos' side. The god of discord and disorder," Roxas summarised as he took in all of the information that Jecht had provided him. The man answered all the questions that Roxas had fired at him.

What side am I on? What is the Crystal? What are our allies like?

All of those questions, Jecht generously answered. Although the rugged man watched and waited for Roxas' expressions, he found nothing but that stoic deadpan stare. Occasionally, very occasionally, Jecht would see a genuine frightened and confused look in the blonde's baby blue eyes but it passed as quickly as it came. It seemed that Roxas didn't like showing emotion.

It looked like he wasn't supposed to.

"Happy now?" Jecht asked, waiting for a reaction. Roxas just shrugged. The blonde crossed his arms and closed his eyes in deep thought as he tried to understand why of all people he was the one chosen to be on Chaos' side.

"Why am I not surprised?" the cloaked youth asked the older man blankly. Jecht furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you being serious or sarcastic. I can't tell, I'd rather you show emotion than acting like a brick, kid," Jecht mumbled bitterly. The older man shook his head and shot a rather unexpected statement toward the cloaked teen.

"I thought you'd be more of the spunky type like my kid."

Roxas sighed at this and walked past where the rugged man was standing. He clasped his gloved hands together to make it seem like the blonde was praying.

"I guess I'm not like any kid. I'm not going to show any emotion or any feeling because I don't feel like being all happy or sad-"

Jecht turned to the teenager with a rather curious expression on his face. The dark haired man approached the cloaked blonde to the edge of what appeared to be the Rift. He listened intently to what the blonde was going to say next.

"-or angry, because I'm not supposed to. I'm not a person with a real heart, I'm just a No-"

"Well, well what do we have here?" an arrogant but calm voice cut off the blonde. Jecht and Roxas whirled around to find a strange looking man in gold holding a rather pointy staff. Jecht summoned his large sword in defence. Behind him, Roxas, who still had his hood up, made no move to attack or defend himself for what might happen.

"Oh, why hello, you're Majesty," Jecht taunted annoyedly. The Emperor turned his eyes from the small figure of the teenager to the rugged Blitzball star. "Eavesdropping on other peoples' conversations again?"

"Silence, you fool. I was only here to visit our new, young fighter over here. To see what capabilities he has and to find out if he would be useful to my cause or not-"

Roxas grinded his teeth in irritation at the inflated man and raised a hand to cut him off. Jecht turned to the blonde in confusion.

"Sorry, mister. But I don't think I want to join that 'cause' you fight for. Looking at you already bothers me that much, I can only imagine what it would be like working for you," Roxas told the man in gold blankly.

Jecht chuckled as he watched the Emperor's reaction to this statement. It would be an understatement to describe his shaking in insulted fury. The sorcerer shot a fast approaching Fireball at the teenager, which Roxas easily avoided without much of an effort.

"Cocky, little brat! I've no use for you, I might as well eliminate you instead," the egotistical man shouted at Roxas. Jecht laughed as he and Roxas dodged the spells that the enchanter fired at them.

Roxas summoned the Oathkeeper and Oblivion and charged at the man in gold as he was too busy firing spells at the Blitzball player. Emperor Mateus whirled around and parried the incoming attack that he almost received from the cloaked teenager.

Roxas stumbled backwards as he tried to avoid the royalty's sharp staff from stabbing him. His hood fell off his head revealing his features to the provoked attacker. Mateus lips curled up in a malicious smile and a low laugh escaped from his lips.

"My, my, Sephiroth was right," he told Roxas as the staff neared the teen's throat. The Emperor examined the blonde's face with dark curiosity, lowering the staff and raised a hand to examine the somewhat shocked Nobody's face.

As the man in gold was too distracted examining Roxas' face, Jecht groaned in sick disappointment. The rugged Blitzball star charged at the royalty with his fists, which the man in gold swiftly blocked the incoming punch as he seemed to finish looking at Roxas' face.

"I've changed my mind," Mateus aimed at Roxas with a dark underlying tone, and with that, as he blocked Jecht's fist, he disappeared into thin air, his dark, laugh echoing throughout the Rift.

Roxas shuddered and put his hood back on as he grabbed Jecht's hand and helped him stood up.

"There goes my dignity. Man, that was creepy," the teenager mumbled dryly. Jecht laughed. Roxas turned to the older man.

"If you thought he was creepy, you haven't seen the clown yet."

--

Sora stood up and beamed at the older armoured man. The slate eyed man eyed the brunette with a stern look.

"I know what I have to do now," Sora told the Warrior of Light. "Thank you."

"That is not a problem. It is my duty to help my comrades," the man in the armour said lightly, although the Warrior of Light didn't look like he was the type to be hugged or tackled, that didn't stop the Keyblade master.

The brunette jumped enthusiastically on the slate eyed man covering him with 'thank you's' and such. The Warrior of Light stiffened at first at the contact but he politely told Sora to get off of him, and the brunette complied happily.

From behind them, Squall, Tidus and Cloud approached the duo quietly, as not to disturb their brotherly moment. The Warrior of Light turned around as he sensed the presence of his fellow comrades. Sora whirled around as well but instead of greeting them politely like the Warrior of Light did, he stiffened and shied away from the newcomers.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Tidus asked Sora as he realised the sudden change of attitude. Sora shook his head and smiled at the three familiar strangers.

"Who are you?" Squall bluntly asked the teenager. Inwardly, Sora frowned at the statement. Why didn't they recognise him?

'I doesn't matter, if I'm going to get my crystal, I just have to focus on that, don't get sidetracked. Even though, Tidus grew a lot. What the heck happened?' Sora asked himself as all five of the Cosmos warriors began walking to the camp that the other had set up.

"Hey, you didn't answer me," Squall quietly said to him as the Warrior of Light strode in front, followed by Tidus who was talking animatedly to Cloud. Sora turned to the SeeD and held out a hand.

"The name's Sora," the Keyblade master greeted politely. Squall stared at the hand with apprehensive eyes at first but then meets the hands of the younger brunette. It wasn't long before an electric shock went up both of their arms and made them both lose consciousness.

The two brunettes buckled and fell in the middle of the small grassy clearing. As Tidus heard the thud of the unconscious bodies, he turned around and ran to Sora and Squall.

"What happened?!" the Blitzball player exclaimed as he checked on two of them. Cloud and the Warrior of Light followed and knelt down to pick their unconscious comrades to camp but.

"!!" a small battalion of mannequins surrounded them ready to attack. Tidus, Cloud and the Warrior of Light circled around Sora and Squall as the mannequins gave out distorted battle cries and charged at the Cosmos Warriors.

The battle quickly ended as the imitations didn't even have the chance to attack the fighters. Cloud sheathed the Buster Sword on his back and bent down to pick up the brown haired teenager while Tidus and the Warrior of Light placed their arms around the SeeD mercenary's shoulders and helped him stand up.

"This is just about the right time to fall asleep," Tidus mumbled under his breath an Cloud walked away with the Keyblade Master in his arms and he and the Warrior of Light following suit to where the camp was. The three were unaware of what an impact the young brunette was going to have on their group.

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**The ending's kind of abrupt. Hope you guys stay tuned. Also, 'mlisteningtorightnow,awesomeOSTsmuch.**


	4. The Sun and The Sky

**Hey guys, sorry for being a slow updater, I kinda lost the Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts touch, but don't worry, it's back again!**

******On to the fic. 3/4 format, people. :D:D:D**

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Sora gazed at the fire while he twiddled his thumbs. The Keyblade Master seemed oblivious to the stares that his new comrades were giving him. The Warrior of Light sighed as he stood up and ushered the others away from the new brunette who looked as though he was about to faint.

"All of you must rest for we've a dangerous road ahead of us," the slate-eyed man said in a commanding voice. Cecil and Firion nodded in a courteous response but the blitzball ace, Tidus refused to take his eyes of the brunette.

"Not to be rude or anything, but I'm not going to sleep without knowing who this guy is," Tidus said bitterly. This made brunette snap out of his trance. The spiky haired teenager addressed all but the Warrior of Light, who he has already got to know.

"If you wanted to know, maybe you should've asked me instead of staring at me like I'm some monster or something. Staring is rude, you know," Sora said quietly, a hint of annoyance could be heard in his voice.

"I'm sorry for our discourtesy," Cecil apologized in a kind manner. The brunette turned to the paladin and grinned. Firion and Terra opened their mouths to apologize as well but the brunette shook it off.

"Meh, it's alright. Now I should really tell you who I am. Everyone, my name is Sora," the teenager said proudly as he stood up from his seat and put his hands on his hips in a sort of heroic pose.

Terra giggled softly to herself, as it seemed that Cosmos has bestowed upon them a warrior that has the enthusiasm with the likes of Bartz, Zidane and Tidus. The said warriors grinned and gave Sora a pat on the back and promised that fun will be in their journey.

Squall however groaned in disbelief. Firion shook his head and gave Squall his sympathy but the weapons master was delighted as well that there would be another cheerful face to help them overcome the reign of the God of Discord.

"Sora, I'm speaking not only for myself but also for my comrades, welcome to the team," Firion applauded the Keyblade Master, everyone followed suit as well. "You'll be one more that Chaos won't be able to defeat."

Sora smiled and sighed.

_'Well, it'll be fun even though Leon, Cloud and Tidus won't be able to remember me,'_ the Keyblade Master thought to himself sadly. He stared at everyone who looked ready to ask him more questions except when the Warrior of Light sternly asked them sleep and reserve their energy. Sora had to agree, he was also tired but the child in the red armour caught his eye. He was still being stared at.

"Um, is there something on my face?" Sora asked the young warrior. The youth crossed his arms and pointed to the Cosmos warriors' weapons.

"I know you're on our side and all, but do you have a weapon?" the child asked the Keyblade master.

Sora stared at him for a moment and summoned his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key. The Onion Knight stared wide eyed at the strange weapon.

"How curious, it's a giant key," the child remarked as examined it. Sora scratched the back of his head as Bartz and Zidane, and from a distance, Tidus began to stare at the strangely shaped weapon.

"Can I hold it?" the Onion Knight asked excitedly. Sora shrugged.

"Sure, why not, you can hold it but it always comes back to me," Sora said as the Onion Knight held the sword. The youth was able to get a good grip on the weapon before returning to Sora's right hand. The child gasped, along with Bartz and Zidane gasped in awe.

"Are you the only one who can use it?" Bartz asked as took his turn and held the weapon for a split second before returning to the younger brunette's hand in a flash of light. Bartz and Zidane took a seat beside the Keyblade master and the Onion Knight as they listened to what Sora had to say.

"A King and my best friends back home could but they said I was the chosen One. Something like that, other than that, nobody else I know could use it without it disappearing and coming back to me," Sora told them quietly, as the sun began to set over the horizon far of the clearing where they stayed at.

"That's pretty cool," zidane remarked as he took his turn in holding the Keyblade before it returned to Sora. Sora shrugged.

"When you think about it, I guess it is. So how about you guys, what's your story? Light told me that I was the only without the crystal," Sora asked them quietly as he dismissed the mysterious weapon. Zidane crossed his arms in deep thought.

"Well, before I was here, I was a part of a gang named Tantalus, we were a group of well, I hate to admit it but, we were thieves disguised as a group of theatre goers, and yeah," Zidane narrated quietly, a hint of pride in his voice. Sora stared at him in awe while as Bartz was laughing quietly to himself, beside the adventurer, the Onion Knight was shaking his head in disapproval.

"You were a thief? Man, that is so cool. But, why are you here then, the last time I checked stealing wasn't a good thing to do," Sora commented.

"Well, we were kinda-" the Genome was cut off by Bartz' laughter.

"No excuses, Zidane. Stealing is bad and that's it," Bartz interrupted. Zidane scowled in annoyance.

"Hey, you mimic me so you might as well be as bad as I am," Zidane argued. Bartz grinned and shook his head.

"Nope, you left out the part of you being a ladies' man. I may copy your attacks but I'm pretty sure I still stick to one girl," Bartz established. Sora began laughing but the Onion Knight stood up and decided to stop the argument.

"We should go to sleep before this gets out of hand, you guys can continue your petty squabble tomorrow," the youth said to the thief and the wanderer. Bartz shrugged it off and said good night to the newcomer and the youth. Zidane groaned and followed him after saying a 'good night' to the two other warriors.

The Onion Knight shook his head and turned to the Keyblade wielder.

"How about you? Are you going to sleep or help me take watch?" the child asked politely. Sora shrugged.

"Hey kid, I'll help you take watch," Tidus said from behind them. The Onion Knight nodded and went over to the other end of the clearing where the other warriors of Cosmos were sleeping. Sora then turned to the Blitzball ace.

"Hey, um, Sora, sorry for being rude to you earlier," Tidus apologized quietly. Sora turned to him.

"For what? I understand no need to say sorry. I wouldn't put my guard down as well if there was this guy that just walked in on the party," Sora acknowledged. Tidus thought for a moment then he grinned.

"You're a cool kid, Sora," Tidus commented. Sora sighed inwardly.

_'I don't doubt that this is Tidus, but it's a Tidus from a different world… He's not that scrawny kid who always asks me and Riku to play blitzball. Does that mean, my world's fake?'_

Sora shook off the thought and yawned. Sleep was about to overcome him.

"Looks like you should go to sleep," Tidus said quietly. Sora stared upward at the starry night sky before lying down on the grass with his head on the log that he sat on previously.

"Night, Tidus."

"Night, Sora."

And with that, the brunette was asleep. Tidus' gaze went through the whole clearing where his comrades were sleeping and back to the Keyblade wielder.

_'Sora, we haven't seen each other in a while but you've grown, you're probably wondering what happened to me, but I really want to know how you got here,'_ the Blitzball ace thought deeply to himself as he watched over the camp, occasionally giving glances to the Keyblade wielder.

_'I hope you don't think that I've forgotten about you.'_

--

"Whoa, we're at the beach," Jecht noted. Roxas surveyed his surroundings. A small island with an islet connected with a wooden bridge. A waterfall was behind them and a small cave beyond the waterfall. On the islet were coconut trees and a peculiar looking tree with star shaped fruits in it.

_'Destiny Islands… Why are we here?'_ the cloaked teenager thought.

"This place looks pretty peaceful to be a battlefield," the rugged Blitzball star remarked. The older man noticed the teenager's silence.

"This is your place isn't it?" Jecht asked. Roxas shook his head. Jecht waited for an answer and when none came he shook it off and sat down sand and let the waves ebb on his feet.

As the elder was relaxing, underneath his hood, Roxas was biting his lip so hard that it would bleed. He could hear the waves at first and the crashing of the waterfall, but Roxas could feel the darkness choking the islands, making the air stagnant and unbearable.

"Roxas-"

At the blink of an eye, the tropical islands were shattered and Jecht and Roxas were falling down through the darkness.

Jecht was pretty sure he was shouting due to the speed that he was falling through but even though his mouth was opened, he couldn't hear his voice and Roxas'.

As the Blitzball star was falling through the darkness for what seemed like a long time, the rugged man lands on an invisible but flat surface. Lights appeared from the floor and doves fly out from the light to leave an illuminated glass floor. An intricate design of another teenager closely resembling Roxas is visible on the floor.

In front of the older man was a white door with a similar motif as with the floor.

"Where the hell am I?" Jecht mumbled bitterly as he approached the door. He took one look around the darkness around the station of Awakening before going through the door.

_'Where'd the kid go? I better find him before someone else does.'_

_

* * *

_

**Yeah, my writing's kind of going downhill now, I need some motivation... :C Jecht got lost in the Awakening if you weren't able to understand the gibberish that I wrote. And I know it's too short, I couldn't make it long enough, I lack the ability to chapterize, or whatever you call the ability to cut down chapters.**


	5. In Another Life

**I'm really sorry for the late update. I'm still quite surprised that people still read this, oh well, I should at least be grateful. On with the fic. In 3/4 format if you will, please. :)**

* * *

The Nobody whirled around looking for the Blitzball star who was supposed to be with him. He pulled down his hood as the rain continued to pour in the Memory's Skyscraper. The blonde's worry began to show on his normally stoic face.

The noise of the rain was beginning to soften but a high frequency ringing would make the noise worse. Roxas grabbed his head as he tried to look for the source of the noise. He turned to the massive screen that was perched on the skyscraper and saw images of ribbons of green light and a fire engulfing a town that he hasn't seen before. The Key of Destiny squinted his eyes as he noticed that there was a figure in black perched on top of the building.

The figure dived down and landed gracefully, it's long silver hair wet from the rain. Roxas' jaw hardened as he saw the glowing green eyes that the figure possessed. The mysterious man smirked at Roxas, who was kneeling on the wet pavement clutching his head struggling to look at the man.

"So this is the neophyte that Chaos has chosen," the man said in a smooth voice while watching the blonde with cold eyes.

Roxas moaned as the pain in his head reached its peak. The last thing that he saw was the man with silver hair bending down to pick him up before passing out.

* * *

It was the morning when the Warriors of Cosmos woke up. They stretched and shook off their weariness as they were ready to start a new day.

The Keyblade Master struggled to get up before noticing that somebody was using his outstretched arm as a pillow. That somebody was Tidus. The brunette noticed that the older had a small bit of drool on the side of his mouth.

Sora let out a groan before shaking the Blitzball ace on the shoulder.

"Huh- What?" the blonde jumped up from his slumber. Sora's other hand met his forehead when felt that the arm Tidus' head rested on became numb. As Zidane saw that the Keyblade bearer was already awake, the thief hurried to talk to him from the other end of the clearing while bumping into some of the more groggy warriors of Cosmos.

Tidus rubbed his eyes before turning to the Keyblade Master, noticing the chagrin present on the other's face and the continuous stretching of his arm; Tidus became aware of what happened.

"Er, Sora, I'm really sorry for sleeping on you, I guess," Tidus apologized awkwardly while helping Sora regain feeling in his arms. Sora just shook his head while feeling the blood come back to his arm.

"Don't worry about it. I would have probably done the same if I was sleepy enough," Sora said as he put a hand on Tidus' shoulder. Tidus grinned and gave Sora a playful punch on the shoulder.

"If that happens, I'm not gonna be the one you sleep on!" The Blitz Ace pushed Sora before dashing away past Zidane. The thief scratched his head confusedly before being tackled by Sora.

"Morning, Zidane!" Sora greeted before helping the Genome up.

"Morning, Sora."

From the distance, a certain SeeD mercenary was watching the events unfold between the thief and the newcomer. The leather clad swordsman was trying to rack in his head where he'd seen this teenager.

The swordsman closed his eyes and scanned his mind for any memory that had Sora in it. The brunette's eyebrows bunched together as he remembered a blurry memory, but recalling hearing the Keyblade Master's voice in one of them.

Just as the brunette was about to remember the words that the newcomer uttered which were lost within the deep recesses of his memory, a calloused hand laid itself on the SeeD's shoulder.

Squall cussed inwardly before turning to the owner of the hand on his shoulder. It was Cloud. Squall grunted at the ex-SOLDIER's somewhat concerned expression. The brunette turned to follow the rest of the Warriors of Cosmos until Cloud murmured something that caught his attention.

"You're trying to remember him, aren't you?"

Squall gave his signature grunt in response before turning to the older blonde.

"What made you think that?" He asked.

"By the way you look at him. Trust me, I've been given that look many times before, and besides," Cloud turned to the thief and the Keyblade Wielder who were both fooling around in the middle of the clearing. "I'm trying to remember him too."

Squall's passive visage slowly melted away to reveal his curiosity.

"Tell me about it," Squall finally said. The blonde glanced at the rest of their camp before seating himself on a nearby log. Squall sighed as Cloud cleared his throat.

"You've had the feeling that you've seen him before haven't you? Like you've met him and both of you became great friends but you can't-"

"Remember. Yeah, I have," Squall mumbled while taking a seat in front of the spiky-haired blonde. The brunette tilted his head and closed his eyes. "Maybe I did in another life."

Cloud stared at the other for a second before shrugging. "Who knows, we might have many other lives we don't know about."

The philosophic statement gave the two males an awkward silence. Squall coughed into his gloved hand.

"The thing is, I probably did see him somewhere before, and when I try to remember, his memory always escapes me," the brunette said disappointedly. Squall lifted his head as the blonde hoisted his massive sword and turned to where the Warrior of Light began walking.

"Same here. but Squall--"Cloud whispered. "We'll remember him. By the way he he looks at us, I just know that he's met us before, not only that, I guess he might've become friends with us too."

Cloud walked away, following the man in the blue armour along with some of the group. Squall stared at the ex-SOLDIER's seat before giving it a soft kick. He then got up and followed them leaving a thought in his wake.

"Maybe in another life."

* * *

Roxas groaned as he felt his headache come back to him. It wasn't as painful as the last one he had though; it was quite bearable this time. Behind his closed eyes, the Nobody tried to recall what had happened before he passed out.

Images of Jecht sitting on the shores of Destiny Island flooded his mind, and then the peaceful scene of the beach breaking immediately like fragile glass. Next went a recollection of a sensation of falling through space and landing in the middle of Memory's Skyscraper.

Everything else after that was blurred and fuzzy, but a voice of a man ran through his mind.

"So this is the neophyte that Chaos has chosen."

The blonde's eyes shot open as he realised that the voice didn't come from inside his head. The first thing he saw ignoring the pain were streams of green whizzing past his head. Large floating rocks then came into view as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights.

Roxas sat up, rubbing his head. He stiffened and turned around slowly and a tall man with long silver hair was in the middle of his line of sight. A bored expression was present on his face.

"So you're awake, Roxas."

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. He straightened up before summoning his Keyblades.

"How do you know my name?" Roxas shouted at the man apprehensively while pointing the Oathkeeper at him. The man merely laughed softly to himself before approaching Roxas with long graceful strides.

The blonde's arm started shaking. Thoughts were running wild in his head.

'What the hell is he?' Was a thought that would sum everything that Roxas was thinking.

"Put your weapons away. I'm not going to hurt you," the man said while raising his hands as a sign of cooperation. Roxas didn't budge.

"Your words give me that impression, but your eyes say otherwise. Who are you anyway?" he asked as he put the Oblivion away. The blonde crossed his arms to control his arms from shaking.

"I took you away from the rain. My name is Sephiroth," the man carried with an air that Roxas couldn't put his finger on. As the silver haired man extended his hand out the teenager gave it a good long stare before shaking it reluctantly.

Sephiroth said nothing as Roxas pulled his hand away and turned to the top on the Planet's Core. The blonde was thinking about heading away from the strange man before the man stopped him with a thought.

"Why do you intend to run away from your fate?" he murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas questioned. Sephiroth gave the teen a small smile. His temper flared up at the man's manner of speaking in riddles.

"Your aim is to look for Jecht and the others is it not? That's what your mind says, your heart however-"

"I DON'T HAVE A HEART, ALL RIGHT? Who do you think you are reading me like an open book?" Roxas shouted at him. Sephiroth didn't say anything and merely gave the blonde an indifferent look.

"I think I am the man who would be able to give you the answers you need in this war we are in," the silver-haired man replied. Roxas gave out a frustrated groan.

Sephiroth continued.

"What Jecht has provided you with wasn't enough to answer your questions. I need to know more and you yourself don't even know why you're acting this way. Your emotions are getting to you."

'I don't have any emotions, all of what I'm feeling right now, it's all fake,' the blonde brooded. Roxas sighed in defeat.

"Give me answers then. If you know what's going to happen to me, then give me the answers that you so proudly tell me you have," Roxas bemoaned. Sephiroth exhaled.

"Follow me," the man merely gestured as he leapt to the top of the Planet's Core, behind him the blonde who was expressing regret for his actions.

* * *

**Good things happen to the stories I write when I listen to Coldplay nonstop.**


	6. Impossible

**I haven't updated in a while and I read over the previous chapters and I found out how terrible they were. The lack of detail and the briefness of the chapters. Augh. Anyhoo, I hope I didn't put the characters out of well character. Enjoy.**

* * *

Squall walked beside his comrades lazily as they ventured through the fragments of their memories. Different worlds pieced together to make some sort of strange one that was beyond repair. But then again that's what war does to places that it happens in.

The SeeD wanted it to all be over, he really did. He didn't want to make friends along the way just so he could lose them all over again, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't stay away from them, Zidane and Bartz, and Cloud and basically all of the Warriors of Cosmos, except for him-

That spiky haired brunette who was walking in front of him, chatting away with Zidane and Tidus, not having a care in the world. He was making the most out of this war, it seemed, spending as much time with people he cared about before it's all over. He wasn't even bothering to find his crystal. Did he even have one?

Squall groaned and slapped himself on the forehead. Sweet mother of Cosmos. What was he thinking just then? The brunette felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He looked over it to see Cecil's concerned eyes. Honest to the Gods, he was starting to think that Cecil was actually a mother in a previous life, with all his kindness that a soldier shouldn't even be possessing.

"Is everything all right, Squall? You seem a bit stressed," the ex captain asked silently. Squall scoffed.

"I'm fine, I don't need your concern." For a moment Cecil looked offended but he covered it up with a gentle smile, like he always does, and didn't ask any further. He simply remained quiet walking beside Squall as they remained together in the group heading towards Chaos.

During the walk, the SeeD mercenary kept glancing towards Sora, the thoughts in his head kept passing in and out like people in a city. These were thoughts about who Sora was, where he came from, and most importantly, why was he so familiar and yet so alien to him?

"Who is he?" Squall heard himself say. He didn't bother dismissing the words for he knew that their intentionswere true. He wanted to know who exactly Sora was and how they were connected, even if it meant marching over to him and shaking the answers out of him.

He heard the sound of a throat clear behind him. Cecil. He brunette turned around to look at the other man again.

"Squall, are you sure that you're all right?" the older man asked kindly. The SeeD bit his lip. Why wouldn't he be all right, he seems healthy enough.

"Why would ask that?"

"You look a bit red. You seem to be thinking about something," Cecil muttered quietly. Squall hit his forehead, he didn't even notice that his face seemed a little warmer than usual. He gave out an exasperated sigh.

"I've been thinking about him," Squall whispered as he pointed to the spiky haired brunette in front. He was still chattering away with Zidane and Bartz. He seemed to have bonded quickly with them for someone who just arrived in the war. Cecil tilted his head in curiosity before chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Squall asked.

"Funny how you told me this. Cloud and Tidus talked to me about Sora as well," the ex captain informed him. Squall pursed his lips, what did Tidus and Cloud have with Sora? He then remembered the talk that he and Cloud shared earlier in the day.

"I think you know him, Sora, the same way Cloud and Tidus knew him," Cecil added as he walked beside the mercenary. Squall swallowed hard.

"Tell me more," he asked.

"Cloud mentioned that the boy was a friend of his, though not in the world where he came from. It was as if there was another world inside his head when he sleeps and Sora was in it helping Cloud with his journey and what not," Cecil told him. Squall's mind was racing. It all came together, the thoughts that Cloud shared with him earlier and this. It all adds up.

"We might have many other lives that we don't know about," Squall mumbled. Cecil gave him a concerned stare.

"Cloud also mentioned that while we were travelling together in search of our crystals, he recalled seeing you in one of those thoughts in his dreams in Sora's world as well, he mentioned you looking a little older," Cecil added. Squall stopped walking and let the thoughts sink in slowly. Why hasn't he 'remembered' Sora but Tidus and Cloud have?

Cecil's voice echoed in his head.

"It was as if there was another world inside his head when he sleeps."

Sleep. Squall realised that he hasn't been getting any decent, no, good sleep recently. But Cloud and Tidus have? He did happen to be a light sleeper, he was a soldier, he had to be. The mercenary snapped out his trance and turned to the silver haired man who was staring at him waiting for a response as his comrades were walking away from them over the hill.

He started to run up to them with Cecil following him. A ghost of a smile dancing on his lips. It felt good to smile, he hasn't in quite while.

"Thanks, Cecil. It helped talking to you," Squall whispered. Cecil slowed down before catching up with him a smile on his lips.

"I help my friends when I can."

* * *

Roxas was panting; he hasn't run this fast except when he was chased by those Heartless in the Pride Lands. In front of him, Sephiroth was practically gliding over the ground which he stepped on, never once losing his grace. He was more graceful than Kuja, it seemed and to Roxas that was quite a feat to pull off.

They were running on top of transparent pillars that seemed to endlessly run down to the dark depths of abyss underneath them and over them was a purple overcast sky giving off that feeling of it almost rainy but it seemed t wasn't going to. Occasionally they would run past long ribbons of pink light by them and more strange things that Roxas hasn't ever though existed. It was as if the place they were running through a place in a nightmare.

As if the swordsman in front sensed his thoughts, he said something to break the silence. "We're running through the World of Darkness, it is one of the places that held the many battles of this never ending war."

'What an appropriate name,' the blonde thought. He pulled his hood over his head as it was already starting to rain. They jumped a few more pillars before stopping above a vast abyss that seemed like an ocean before them. Roxas squinted at the horizon, seeing a patch of green against the darkness, like an island if you may.

"Are we going over there?" Roxas asked feebly before the obvious truth dawned over him. He shook his head wildly before stepping away from the vast darkness below. He couldn't do it. Yes, he could jump higher than a normal human, maybe even jump higher than a skyscraper, look at that incident with Riku in Memory's Skscraper, but he couldn't fly, he was pretty sure that gravity still affected him. Sora can fly but he couldn't he didn't share that ability with his counterpart.

"I can't do that, I'll fall to my death if I do," Roxas mumbled. Sephiroth gave a disappointed grunt while shaking his head. He raised a gloved finger and pointed it over to the green on the horizon.

"Visualize a dense forest, as green as it can be with all the tiny creatures, the trees and the life flowing inside them," the swordsman instructed. The blonde gave him an incredulous look, the silverette responded to it with an icy glare. "Do it."

The blonde shut is eyes and inhaled deeply. He then started flying over to the green spot over the horizon so quickly that he didn't eve realize it for a second, the moment he opened his eyes and looked down , he started to fall in the darkness with a scream erupting from his lips. Sephiroth acted quickly and proceeded to dash towards the blonde with the air as his platform. The grabbed the teen and hoisted over his shoulders before dashing towards the distant patch of green.

A few moments later Roxas found himself lying on grass, the tall silver haired soldier hovering over him. He sat up and felt his face redden in embarrassment, not that it was genuine however, but he still felt embarrassed.

"You're going to have to get used to it," the man told him before he started walking deeper into the forest. Roxas scrambled to follow the older man clearing the way, kicking down shrubs and bushed and braches of trees that hung too low.

"That's impossible," the teenager found himself saying. He coughed into his mouth before turning to pushing away stray shrubs out of his path. "Do you have any more advice?"

"What I just taught you would be useful in battle," Sephiroth told him. He pointed to the spot where Roxas was standing. "Stay on that spot and follow whatever I tell you."

Roxas crossed his arms stared after the older man as he walked farther and farther away from him until all that was visible was the bright gleam of his silver hair from afar. The only that thing stayed in Roxas' head however was what he heard the slver haired man whisper.

"Come and get me."

Instinct took over and the neophyte's sense of logic shut down. The image of the swordsman's condescending face was all in his mind, Every stand of his long silver hair, the otherworldliness present in the man's glowing green eyes, everything that made Sephiroth well, Sephiroth. He the next thing the blonde knew he was dashing through the air head first with his fist aimed at the man's face.

The hit was blocked by man's gloved hand however. The anger didn't stop there though, Roxas kept aiming for each punch, coming after another and another. The frustration seemed to pour like an endless waterfall.

"I hate this, this stupid war! Having to fight for something I don't want! HAVING TO BE A NOBODY!"

He shouted and shouted until nothing came out of his mouth. He pulled his hand from Sephiroth's grasp and whirled around to kick a nearby rock. Sephiroth stared at him, never did the soldier encounter a being like this before, hell, messing around with Cloud's head was fun but this is something else...

"That's all for today, we'll continue tomorrow."

* * *

**Hah, what do you guys think? Sephiroth seems a bit, well, human, like say, Crisis Core Sephiroth.**


	7. Recollection

**Sorry for the wait, everyone. I've been out of the loop for a bit, but then I started writing this after someone messaged me, and I felt a bit ashamed of making everyone wait... I wrote this, it was slow at first, but then it began to catch up on me I felt like continuing it because I know what's going to happen. I'm sorry if seems a bit convoluted.**

* * *

Sephiroth stared at the star-speckled sky. Occasionally, a whistle of wind would blow in his ears and make strands of his hair fly past his head. He was sitting on a log, on top of a dense, tree filled hill, with Roxas sleeping at the foot of the log, in front of a couple of brightly burning embers.

He glanced behind him and saw the remnants of trees and a couple of mannequins scattered at the foot of the hill below them. It was another day filled with training Roxas to become a hardy warrior. It was also so much more complicated than he thought it would be.

Although he knew he could make Roxas stronger before those Warriors of Cosmos could even come close to defeating Chaos. It was a challenge he wanted to take. Roxas had a lot of power.

A gust blew at the trees, sending clumps of his hair flying past his head, and a couple of tiny embers at the sky, making them look like red stars. Golbez appeared behind him, and although was silent at first, walked over to where the swordsman was quietly in his bulky armor as not to wake the teenager sleeping at Sephiroth's feet.

"How is he going?" Golbez started as he looked to Roxas' sleeping figure. Sephiroth glanced at Roxas but returned to staring at the stars; something that he's been doing lately after taking the blond under his wing.

"He's cooperating but still keeping quiet to himself. He's also getting much stronger than I thought he would," Sephiroth replied. He turned to the armored man. "How's Jecht? Is he still searching for-"

Golbez cut the ex-SOLDIER off with a sigh. "Yes, he is getting very agitated."

"There's not much of a wait left," Sephiroth said with a slight smile in his voice. "Roxas will be back. By then he knows what to do and who to look for when the time comes."

Golbez nodded but felt guilt, as both of them are manipulating a confused teenager who doesn't want to get involved at all. Sephiroth was probably feeling no remorse about it, but the warlock was none too happy by this skirmish.

Jecht was already in a very bad mood once Kuja and Golbez found him. The athlete was grumbling quite often about how he lost Roxas while they were taking a walk, and how he was worried about the 'damn kid'. Golbez was surprised at the man's paternal instinct.

"I shall see to it that Jecht would be calm before Roxas returns," Golbez said in a tone of finality that Sephiroth responded to with an indiscernible nod. Golbez stared at Roxas' sleeping figure, whose mind seemed to be in another place as he slept, before disappearing in a blast of dark energy.

Sephiroth exhaled as it was silent, save from Roxas' even breathing, and he was left in the night to count how many stars there were yet again. There was still so much to do.

* * *

"Leon!" A high voice exclaimed. Squall's eyebrows bunched together at the sound of the name and turned around to see a girl, short black hair, running up to him in light, nimble steps. She had a strange blue popsicle in her hands.

"Yuffie?" He sputtered. The ninja grinned and raised one of the popsicles to him. He took it reluctantly before eating it; a sense of familiarity shot through him, as if the whole thing was happening to him everyday of his life and he was used to it.

He looked around and found him to be surrounded by colorful cottages that had chimneys sprouting smoke at random intervals. Flower beds were lining the streets and overlooking the small town was a large piped castle. _Radiant Garden._

"Thanks," he said as both of them started walking around the stony steps down to Merlin's house. Yuffie pulled out two more sea salt ice cream popsicles. Squall assumed for Aerith and Cid, now that he had a firm grasp on the reality that was right in front of him. No worrying about the war that was going on outside his mind.

"Where've you been lately?" Yuffie asked suddenly, as they weaved through a small crowd of shoppers in the market. Squall glanced at her and bit into the ice cream.

"I had some stuff to do," Squall answered. Yuffie gave him a strange look.

"No you haven't. It's not some Restoration Committee stuff, that's for sure," Yuffie said curiously as she shoved the two uneaten popsicles at Squall and fished a key for the wizard's house from her pocket. She opened the door to reveal the blond pilot, Cid, who was typing madly at his computer, and Aerith who was reading a book at the small table in the corner of the small house.

"Hey, guys! Look at what I got ya!" Yuffie exclaimed as she snatched the ice cream from Squall and handed them to her friends. Aerith nodded gratefully and closed her book, standing up and letting her pink dress ruffle behind her as she walked over to take one of the popsicles. She noticed Squall who was still standing at the doorway.

"Hello, Leon. Nice of you to join us," she said as she looked at Squall with doe eyes. Squall shifted uncomfortably under the woman's gaze. "You've been gone a lot lately."

Cid turned around from his chair and grabbed the last popsicle that Yuffie was holding out to him and yanked off the plastic wrapper. "Yeah, don' go pulling a Cloud on us, will ya?"

"'A Cloud?'," Squall asked. Yuffie turned to Aerith who was still inspecting Squall under her gaze.

"Any word on where Cloud is? Did Tifa find him yet?" The ninja asked eagerly. Cid and Aerith shook their heads sadly. Squall stared past the group and at the large computer screen that was facing the door.

_Cloud's somewhere else __fighting a war, guys. I should be too,_ Squall thought as he finished his snack. He was about to say good bye abruptly to his 'friends' until he heard Yuffie ask something else.

"What about Sora? Any word on him?" The ninja asked hopefully. Cid perked up and started typing madly on the computer behind him. A streaming video popped up on the screen and everybody huddled to watch. It was Kairi, the girl Sora was searching endlessly for, laughing and holding hands with someone off screen.

Squall could hear Sora's voice laughing with Kairi, and he could only assume that it was Riku, Sora's best friend, who was holding the camera. Squall smiled. _So this is where Sora goes after all of what happened._

"Hey, guys! You look like you're having fun!" Yuffie exclaimed into the microphone, making the three teenagers on screen jump at the ninja's high pitched voice. Riku chuckled and held the camera so that the three of them were behind the camera.

"Yeah, we are," Sora said sheepishly. Kairi punched his arm playfully and giggled. Riku was looking as calm as ever. Squall stared at Sora intently. There was something else underneath the younger brunette's happy-go-luckiness and he knew what it was. Squall moved over and grabbed the microphone.

"Nice to see you, guys," Squall greeted. Sora jumped and crawled over so that his whole face was all that the camera can see. Squall spotted riku's hand trying to pull his best friend of the camera.

"Leon! You're here," Sora exclaimed in joy as he and his friends were finally visible again in the video. The boy's voice had a tone of happy longing, as if finally getting to see a friend who was gone for a long time. "I'm really happy to see you."

"I am too," Squall said. Yuffie and Aerith smiled behind him. "But I have to leave soon. There are important things that have to be done."

Everyone behind the gunman groaned. Yuffie gave out a disappointed, "WHAT? WHY?".

Sora, Riku and Kairi's smiles faltered.

"I know, I know," Sora sighed. "I've got stuff to do too."

Kairi pouted at him as he stood up and went off screen but gave her a kiss on the forehead briefly.

"See you, guys," was the last thing they heard from the Keyblade Master before it was only Riku and Kairi left.

"He's been somewhere lately," Riku informed the group behind the computer screen. Squall could understand and bade everyone, in both video and real time, good bye and left the wizard's house. He walked around madly, until he felt that he was out of his body, simply as a wandering spirit. Looking around, he found himself in a strange place of mind, there wasn't any light, but Squall could feel that he was safe.

He felt the air around him vibrate, as if someone was shouting something through water. He shook himself madly opened his eyes. The brunette found himself staring up at the purple streaked sky.

It was another day in the 13th war. He propped himself on his elbows and looked around. Everyone was still asleep. He noticed that the dazzling fellow who wore the very elaborate horned helmet looked different without his horned helmet on. He counted everyone and frowned.

_Where the heck was Sora?_

He heard bushes shuffled behind him and he looked around, immediately summoning his gunblade, and found Sora, who still looked a bit groggy, who had a hand full of berries. The younger brunette perked up but faltered when he saw Squall, who put his weapon away.

"Morning," Sora greeted. Squall nodded and grabbed one of the berries Sora offered him. It was quiet, Firion stirred in his sleep occasionally but other wise all they could hear was the rustle of leaves surrounding them. Squall cleared his throat.

"We've both got stuff to do, don't we, Sora?" The SeeD started, hoping that the Keyblade Master would understand where he was coming from. Sora was quiet at first but then a smile, a genuine smile, formed on his face and he sighed gratefully.

"Yeah, we do," the teenager answered. Squall smiled and took another one of the berries and popped it in his mouth. The silence continued on, but it moved from being something uncomfortable to something more welcoming, as if asking for conversation.

"Glad to have you back, Leon," Sora said as he laid a hand on the older's shoulder. Squall sighed at the name.

"Glad to be back, Sora." 


	8. Missing

_**A/N**: So I haven't updated in a little over a year now. I'm still quite surprised that people are waiting on this, considering I've moved on to, shall we say, greener pastures. But still, I'm touched that you guys did wait for it. I sincerely apologize for being an inconsiderate author. My writing style's changed obviously, and while I would explain how, I'd prefer it if you guys read it for yourselves and decided on a verdict. I will say that I'm more comfortable with how I go about things now but anyway, on to the fic. I reiterate: PLEASE READ THIS FIC IN 3/4 FOR MAXIMUM READABILITY._

* * *

Sora looked ahead, staring at the darkened sky while stretching his sleep worn arms. He paced quietly while the others slept. He agreed to take watch for tonight since they were nearing the Mirage Sandsea and its bridge of land that got swallowed by the tide.

While he held his cheerful composure in front of the others, particularly Bartz and Zidane, he still felt out of place. Everyone has their crystals, and he felt terrible making them wait when he himself knew nothing of how to get his. Sometimes he saw the Warrior of Light's eyes bore into him impatiently when he caught the man's glance. As it turned out, everyone had their bad sides, even heroes. If Light had one, it was the fact that he was impatient, the fact that he didn't listen sometimes, that everyone had to do it his way. For their safety he said.

Sora could honestly just get up outright and tell them to go, to defeat Chaos, not to wait for him because everybody began to get short fused because of it. What was he anyway, but a burden? A worthless, unworthy burden. To think he was the Chosen One, to think that everyone relied on him back then when he couldn't even find a rock in this strange war torn land.

"You alright, Sora?" he heard from behind him and he grimaced. The last person he'd expect to have a heart to heart with at this ungodly hour of the morning was Cloud. Really, as much as he respected the ex-SOLDIER, he still didn't know how to act around him. The man was an enigma to say the least. And what was the deal between him and that Sephiroth guy anyway?

"Yeah, Cloud, I'm fine," he faked a yawn. "Just need something to wake me up, is all."

He didn't know whether it was his eyes that messed with him or not but Sora could've sworn that Cloud smiled just then. "Come on then, maybe a fight would wake you up."

Needless to say, the fight did wake him up. It was what he needed all along really. And if he'd learnt anything about Cloud after this, it was that the guy appreciated a good spar. Who didn't?

When they got up to climb the hill that they descended from to find a good sparring area away from the others, someone had waited for them there. Someone who Sora should've realised was missing from him ever since he got sent to this war.

The blond eyed him wearily, ignoring the growing hostility that ex-SOLDIER had for him when raised his massive weapon. Roxas seemed calm, composed with his hands tucked away in his leather coat. Yet Sora could see something underneath that thin line his mouth made. Even the tone the Nobody spoke it foretold something alarming.

"Hey, Sora. Miss me?" Roxas asked in an unreadable tone, a Nobody's tone. Sora looked to Cloud, bringing his hands up to placate the man's growing need to strike. Roxas scoffed from metres away as he began to pace around in a controlled, almost easy manner. As if he was strutting, and only then did Sora figure out that something was really wrong here. "Or not. Y'know, it's alright if you don't, no one did. Not like you needed me in the first place."

"Roxas, what are you talking about?" he pleaded, walking over to the Nobody. "What's with you?"

"You know this guy, Sora?" Cloud asked from behind him, refusing to lower his sword.

The air around them had gotten stifling, humid, acidic even. The air hummed and Sora swallowed uncertainly, feeling his body protest when he summoned the Keyblade. The scratches of mannequins forming, manifesting around them filled their ears. But no, Sora wasn't listening to their distorted cries because he kept his eyes only on Roxas, who seemed not bothered by all these copies of crystal around them. Too many for him and for Cloud to handle.

"Yeah, I know him," he exhaled when the mannequins stilled. An aggravated cry from the Zidane-copy to his right screamed at his ear and he swung his Keyblade to silence it. Soon, the mass of copies were on them but he could only see Roxas sneering at them before turning away and disappearing into the darkness when the riot of mannequins pursued them. "He's me. Run!"

* * *

Jecht was mad and while Kuja would usually revel in the man's anger, this time was different. When he and the Blitzball athlete learnt that Sephiroth had taken Roxas away to encourage the ways of Chaos that were different from Matteus' or Ultimecia's methods, Jecht went off the bat. And when he found out that Golbez had played a part it as well, to keep them, mostly Jecht and his skewed paternal instincts at bay, he really had to flee from the man's rage with his tail between his legs.

He was formidable when he was angry. He was terrifying. He would have torn you apart.

"YOU TOOK THE DAMN KID AND GAVE HIM LESSONS ON HOW TO BE FUCKED UP?!" Jecht bellowed as he lumbered around Chaos' Shrine, kicking the already crushed pillars from his earlier fit. Kuja floated away from them watching instead from the hole in the ceiling and analysing Sephiroth's non-existent response and Golbez' impenetrable armour. Those two were impossible to read, if anything. "I EXPECTED HIS HIGHNESS AND THAT WITCH TO DO THIS, BUT YOU GOLBEZ?! I THOUGHT YOU'D HELP OUT COSMOS-"

"You care about Roxas?" Sephiroth slipped out calmly, a question that they already knew the answer to. "You think you'd be able to do right by him when you've failed you own son, Jecht? You think you can try and help him since you've failed so badly with Tidus-"

"Can it, Sephiroth!" Jecht hissed. The man was visibly shaking and Kuja was glad that he knew nothing, that he wasn't asked to be a part of this farce but he was saddened to see Jecht and all his sincerity being torn apart by this heartless son of Jenova. "This isn't about me. This is about Roxas. Where is he?"

"I'm right here." When Roxas appeared at the doorway of the Shrine, there had been silence for a beat before Jecht barrelled into him, taking his frame and crushing it in his arms. Kuja saw remorse flicker briefly in the teenager's eyes before settling back down into that practiced demeanour with the likes of Sephiroth. The Champion really did rub off on the Neophyte.

"Where have you been, kid?" the athlete asked, concern of a father just living through his question.

"Oh, don't act like you care about me," Roxas hissed when the athlete's grip fell away from him. He'd echoed out what Sephiroth had said moment's ago, but Kuja can see even in his shock, that this had more of an impact of Jecht. "You don't, none of you do. I was messing around with Sora, if you wanted to know so badly."

Effectively, Jecht had gone numb, as though he'd grown armour around himself like an armadillo would. Kuja would have enjoyed this drama if he didn't begrudgingly care about these comrades of his so much. Yes, he admitted it, he cared about the bumbling athlete and this moody teenager. "Sora? Is that spiky haired punk that just came here the same time you did?"

"Yeah. He's mine to take care of."

Jecht huffed, that numb exterior of his cracking and Kuja can only watch as the athlete kicked a boulder at Sephiroth in a fit of rage. Roxas had jumped away from them uncertainly, taking to watching the ex-SOLDIER ready for another strike in that deathly calm manner of his, only to be dismissed when Jecht stomped out of the Shrine.

"Fuck this. I need a drink."

* * *

"Stop it. We can't afford to be arguing now," Cecil pleaded with the Warrior of Light as they stood over the fatigued Sora and Cloud. Terra and the young Onion Knight has situated themselves, healing and taking out the inflicted ailments that the mannequins had managed to place on them before their speedy demise. "Calm down, Light. Please."

The paladin laid a placating hand of the man's shoulder, only for it to be shaken off in a fit. It was the first time any of them had seen the Warrior lose it, out of sheer concern and worry for them all. Cecil thought it was admirable. Sora flinched when Terra put a doctoring hand to his bare shoulder. "You've put yourselves in danger and you were ambushed. Sora, you're the most inexperienced out of everyone in this war. We're planning on facing Chaos with everyone here, you have to understand that."

"Don't take it out on him," Cloud rasped when his hands found themselves pulling the grass out from the soil. When all eyes landed on him, he continued to speak. "I told him to take a break. If you're gonna yell at someone, then let it be me."

"No, you can yell at me all you want." Sora even the energy to grin at them all. Strange, Cecil thought, but not off-putting. His boldness was exciting, though a bit ill-timed. "Really, I'm okay with it. I understand, Light."

"You haven't exactly told us what happened though," Tidus chimed from the look out, swinging his water-edged weapon around sharply. "We cleared the area yesterday, so when that Roxas guy showed up the mannequins all suddenly appear again?"

"Yeah, Roxas is with Chaos." An air of uncertainty coated Sora's voice, as though he hasn't accepted the fact that this Roxas who they so talked about was the enemy. Cecil only knew of a boy Sora's age, in a black coat but was he Sora's enemy, like many of them who've faced theirs? Or was Roxas a relative of Sora's, a friend? Someone close enough to feel the sting of their betrayal like Golbez to him and Jecht to Tidus? "But I need to find him again, I need to get him back since he's missing from me."

"Missing from you?" Cecil asked.

"Well, yeah. He's part of me. He's my Nobody. If I'm going to get my crystal, I think I need to get him back. I know that now."

* * *

_**A/N**: My other, more constantly updated fic account is 'Holographism' if you guys interested in things that are Legend of Korra-related, but otherwise, I'll try to keep this fic going until it finishes. Thanks for the reviews and messages._


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